Revitalizing heritage: Jean-Charles Boisset and Buena Vista

[caption id="attachment_56783" align="aligncenter" width="420"] Jean Charles Boisset with Count Agoston Haraszthy[/caption] In 1981, when Jean-Charles Boisset was 11, he visited his first American winery: Sonoma's Buena Vista Winery. Founded in 1857, it is the oldest winery in California. He visited the historic winery with his... Continue

Worth the drive: Amy’s Drive Thru

[caption id="attachment_56774" align="aligncenter" width="367"] My first veggie burger awaits me at Amy's Drive Thru[/caption] Until I went to Amy's Drive Thru, I had never had a veggie burger. Despite having many vegan and vegetarian friends, I've avoided veggie burgers. Stories of cardboard textured mass produced... Continue

Strategy and tactics in the living wage campaign

Opinion by Ben Boyce The Sonoma County chapter of Jobs with Justice, which was the organizational successor to the Living Wage Coalition, has been waging a protracted siege on the Board of Supervisors to pass a Living Wage Ordinance for all workers employed by the... Continue

Open letter to political candidate Trump and those who think like him

First, trolling bait to the anti-brown immigrants crowd, by calling Mexicans “sent here by their government,” “rapists,” and “bringing drugs and crime,” he then stirred in xenophobic fears and racial bias aimed at the Chinese government with factually dumb and just plain wrong rhetoric geared... Continue

Homage to Oliver Sacks

Oliver Sacks, the best-selling author/neurologist, has died. In his inimitable style he wrote about his impending death from metastatic cancer in articles in the NY Times, and as it true of all his writing, his keen observation and fondness for humanity jumps right off the... Continue

The City of Boyes Hot Springs?

If the recent activity surrounding Rico Martin's facade and painting projects in Boyes Hot Springs is any indication, a community is arising with interest in investing in its own future. Between the long-delayed street and sidewalk improvements to the upcoming affordable housing project, The Springs,... Continue

Depot Park Museum needs volunteers for school tours

The Sonoma Valley Historical Society is calling for volunteers to lead school groups on tours of the Depot Park Museum. The tours divide classes of students into three groups for visits to the Train Room, the current exhibition, and the historic school classroom. Teachers and... Continue

Beer & “Wine o’clock” added to Oxford English Dictionary

Rejoice! "Wine o'clock" and "beer o'clock" have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary. The Dictionary defines "wine o'clock" as "an appropriate time of the day for starting to drink wine." Other foodie/boozie related words that were added, include: Awesomesauce: extremely good, excellent Cakeage: a... Continue

Vegan faux-mayo feels the heat from FDA

Turns out the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has quite strict terms on what one can call "mayonnaise." This month, the FDA sent a warning letter to Hampton Creek, the San Francisco based food company, to tell them to stop promoting Just Mayo, their vegan... Continue

Flood control, improvements coming to Nathanson Creek Preserve

The flood-prone Nathanson Creek Preserve, which includes two Sonoma city parks and a stretch of well-traveled bike path, will be improved with the construction of a floodplain and habitat enhancement project. Sonoma Ecology Center and the City of Sonoma have completed planning and design to... Continue